Cowboy Up (2000)

User Rating:

5.7/10   

Director:

Xavier Koller

Writer (WGA):

James Redford (written by)

Release Date:

29 September 2000 (USA)

Genre:

Drama | Romance | Western

Tagline:

Think of it as a freight train with horns.

Plot:

Two bull-riding brothers work the professional rodeo circuit. |

Plot Keywords:

Bull Riding | Rodeo | Ranch | Rural | Horse Riding

Cast

Kiefer Sutherland	...	Hank Braxton
Marcus Thomas	...	Ely Braxton
Daryl Hannah	...	Celia Jones
Melinda Dillon	...	Rose Braxton
Molly Ringwald	...	Connie
Russell Means	...	Joe
Anthony Lucero	...	Jed
Bo Hopkins	...	Ray Drupp
Pete Postlethwaite	...	Reid Braxton
Timothy Daly	...	Young Ely
Julian Daly	...	Young Hank
Al Corley	...	Dr. Fremont
Georgina Lightning	...	Brenda
Nataanii Nez Means	...	Troy
Robert Miranda	...	Eddie (as Robert G. Miranda)

Also Known As:

Hearts and Bones (USA) (working title)
Ring of Fire

MPAA:

Rated PG-13 for language, a scene of sensuality, and brief violence.

Runtime:

USA:105 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Certification:

Iceland:12 | Germany:12 | USA:PG-13 | Australia:M

Filming Locations:

Las Vegas, Nevada, USA

Company:

Code Entertainment

Trivia:

The movie was suppose to be released in 2000, then in early 2001. Eventually, it went straight to video.

Movie Connections:

References Goldfinger (1964)

Golden nugget

It is hard to understand that this film has received such a modest rating. The construction of the film is first rate, starting with the script by James Reford, and continuing with an excellent cast of experienced actors, direction which keeps a pace designed to hold the attention of the viewer, and camera work with both close-in and long shots that convey the action of the rodeo.

Led by Kiefer Sutherland, the support team of actors "works" to reveal a contemporary twist of classic story lines---competing brothers whose love for one another is stretched to the limits, an ego centric father who deserts is family and wallows in self pity, a mother who deals with the realities daily life, lovers that are courted, spurned, and hurtfully do their own rejections. And all this is subtly tied together by a bull---the object of obsession within the community of rodeo aficionados, and a symbol of challenge that goes back thousands of years to the island of Crete.

While some "urban" or actual working cowboys of today may choose to pick at the text, acting, or realism of Cowboy Up, the film really captures the idea of why rodeo enthusiasts still keep the myth of the west still alive---even in Las Vegas! Cowboy Up deserves greater recognition than it has heretofore.